Integrated circuits have become a necessary part of everyday modern society. From wireless phones and information handling systems, to household appliances and data storage systems, a wide range of integrated circuits are utilized to provide a broad range of functionality. To provide this functionality, integrated circuits may need to be specialized to have the functions necessary to achieve the desired results, such as through the provision of an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). An ASIC is typically optimized for a given function set, thereby enabling the circuit to perform the functions in an optimized manner. However, there may be a wide variety of end-users desiring such targeted functionality, with each user desiring different functionality for different uses.
Additionally, more and more functions are being included within each integrated circuit. While providing a semiconductor device that includes a greater range of functions supported by the device, inclusion of this range further complicates the design and increases the complexity of the manufacturing process. Further, such targeted functionality may render the device suitable for a narrow range of consumers, thereby at least partially removing an “economy of scale” effect that may be realized by selling greater quantities of the device.
Thus, the application specific integrated circuit business is confronted by the contradiction that the costs of design and manufacture dictate high volumes of complex designs. Because of this, the number of companies fielding such custom designs is dwindling in the face of those rapidly escalating costs.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a platform architecture of the present invention.